How Much Do US Companies Save by Hiring in Latin America?

If you’ve spent any time thinking about hiring outside the US, you’ve probably heard some version of this already:

“Companies do it to save money.”

That part isn’t surprising. But what many teams aren’t sure about is how much they’d actually save, and whether those savings are worth the perceived hassle of hiring internationally or having to work with a specialist recruiting partner.

If you’re facing budget constraints, struggling to fill roles, or just trying to make your hiring dollars go further, this article is meant to help you answer one simple question:

Is hiring in Latin America actually worth it for us?

To answer that, we’re not relying on anecdotes or best-case scenarios. The data in this article comes from our State of LatAm Hiring 2026 report, which analyzed over 2,000 placements across 411 different roles made by US companies over the past year.

The savings, timelines, and patterns you’ll see below reflect what companies are experiencing right now—not what’s theoretically possible.

What companies save by hiring in Latin America compared to in the US

On average, we see US companies saving $35,000 to $64,000 annually per hire when they bring on Latin American talent compared to equivalent US positions. That’s 30–70% in cost savings, depending on the role and seniority level.

The savings exist because of market differences and cost of living, not because you’re compromising on talent quality. Plus, Latin American professionals working with US companies often earn well above their local market rates, which means strong retention and genuine commitment to your business.

Here’s what the difference in salaries looks like for specific roles:

US vs. LatAm Salary Ranges

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These aren’t marginal differences. For the cost of one US hire, you can bring on 2 to 3 experienced professionals from Latin America. Or, you can hire a far more experienced person than you thought you could. 

And, in fact, that is something we see more teams doing. 

We saw that in 2025, 84% of placements were mid-level or senior positions. Companies aren’t hiring junior talent; they’re accessing experienced professionals who bring real expertise to their teams.

Hiring in Latin America isn’t just about saving money

We see that the real value from hiring in Latin America isn’t just lower salaries. It’s being able to hire the team you actually need—not the scaled-down version your budget forces you to settle for.

With nearshore hiring, companies can:

• Fill roles they’ve been unable to fill domestically because the salary expectations are too high
• Access senior-level expertise they couldn’t afford or find in the US market
• Build entire departments after starting with just a few hires
• Redirect savings into growth initiatives, better tools, or strategic hires they otherwise couldn’t make
• Scale operations 40-100%+ in a single year without proportionally scaling costs

One client told us:

We were very pleased with the caliber of talent you were able to find, to the point where we are considering hiring two developers instead of one.

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That’s a common response we hear. When you find exceptional talent at rates that make sense, you can suddenly afford to upskill your team or increase velocity in ways that weren’t possible before.

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“But don’t you have to work with a partner? Doesn’t that eat into the savings from hiring in Latin America?”

That’s a fair concern. Yes, working with a LatAm staffing and recruitment partner like Near or using an EoR company adds fees on top of base salaries. 

Here’s why the ROI still makes sense.

What you’re paying for when you work with a recruiting partner

When you work with a LatAm recruitment partner, you’re not just paying for introductions to candidates. You’re paying for:

• Pre-vetted talent pools so you’re not spending your evenings sorting through 78 random resumes
• Speed: Placements in weeks, compared to the typical 40-60+ day hiring cycles in the US (e.g., companies that work with Near usually hire in under 3 weeks)
• On-the-ground expertise: Knowing which universities produce top talent, what competitive salaries look like in each country, and how economic conditions affect hiring
• Payroll and compliance handling (if you use a managed service model), so you don’t have to figure out international employment law yourself or open a local entity
• Elimination of costly hiring mistakes from trying to navigate a market you don’t know

How the math still works

Even with partner fees factored in, companies still typically save 30-50% compared to US salaries. The net savings remain substantial.

For most companies, working with a partner isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s what makes the whole thing viable.

Consider the alternative: the DIY route means months of figuring out the process, navigating unfamiliar markets, making expensive hiring mistakes, and dealing with the opportunity cost of all that time.

Hiring an executive assistant, you might save $50,000+ annually even after fees—and you get someone in place within weeks instead of months.

Many companies find it more efficient to work with a partner who’s already built the infrastructure, relationships, and expertise in Latin American markets. You’re essentially buying back time and reducing risk while still realizing significant cost benefits.

When the math doesn’t work (even if the numbers look good)

This is important, and it’s something that doesn’t get said enough.

Hiring in Latin America is not a fit for every situation.

Even if the cost savings are there, it may not work well if:

• The rest of your team is fully in-office, and you’re hiring one remote person into a highly collaborative role
  (For example: a remote marketing manager expected to Zoom into daily brainstorms with an in-office team.)
• You don’t have any remote infrastructure at all
  No async workflows, no documentation, no comfort with distributed work.
• The role requires constant, real-time coordination with many stakeholders, and there’s no willingness to adapt how the team works.

That said, it can still work well for roles that are:

• More self-contained (accounting, bookkeeping, operations), even if the rest of the team is in the office
• Primarily working with a founder or small leadership group
• Measured on outputs rather than constant collaboration

The setup matters just as much as the salary math.

So… is hiring in Latin America worth it for US companies?

For most US companies that are already open to remote work, the answer is yes.

Not because hiring in Latin America is “cheap,” but because:

• The savings are real and substantial
• The talent is skilled and experienced
• The process is often faster than US hiring with the right partner
• The ROI holds up even after partner fees

The pattern we see with clients is remarkably consistent:

1. They start with one hire to test the waters
2. They experience both the cost savings and the seamless process
3. They return for another hire. Then another.
4. Within months, they’re scaling from a few placements to entire teams
5. They expand hiring across multiple departments

But the reason companies don’t just hire once—they build entire teams—isn’t just about the money.

It’s because working with the right partner makes the process more efficient than typical US hiring: faster placements, higher-quality candidates, and less time wasted on the search.

You get cost savings, and you get your time back. That combination is what makes nearshore hiring through the right partner not just viable, but genuinely strategic for companies that need to scale.

Further reading: Why More US Businesses Are Hiring in Latin America: What We Learned from Talking to 2,000 Hiring Managers

Final thoughts

The savings from hiring in Latin America are real and substantial. For most roles, you’re looking at $35,000 to $64,000 saved per hire.

What we see again and again is that once teams understand the financial upside, their next questions tend to be broader:

• What roles are companies actually hiring for in Latin America?
• Which countries are best for different functions?
• What seniority level are companies hiring for?
• How long does hiring typically take?

That’s exactly why we publish our State of LatAm Hiring report each year.

The report looks beyond just cost savings. It breaks down the roles US companies are hiring for most often, where they’re hiring, how senior those hires are, and what companies are actually achieving once they build teams in Latin America.

If this article helped you understand the financial side of nearshore hiring, the report will give you a fuller picture of what hiring in Latin America looks like in practice today and whether it makes sense for your team.

Download the State of LatAm Hiring Report to explore the data and insights in more detail.

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